We live on a island so we have temperate climates we may have heatwaves once in a blue moon (well up north that’s true) but that’s it , it’s not guaranteed every year so you cannot plan this or go to the expense of installing aircon in homes and offices and schools etc (bad for the environment anyway) I have lived back in the UK since 2010 and this has only happened maybe a couple of times, it’s okay for countries like canards that know they are going to have appalling extremes (well to me they are) as in Australia I’m the summer you know what you are going to expect (should do the same in WA for winters though) and maybe other Mediterranean countries but it all comes down to cost if you can afford it, the government and is it viable if not guaranteed extremes.

Nice and cool 22C here today and a gentle breeze. Lovely. Leaving for a dentist appoint in 10 minutes - not so lovely - but at least the dentist's office will not be an oven.

There may be a need to look at changing the school year. Most schools in Spain don't have A/C either, but the school year ended almost a month ago so no students or staff are having to try to work in the high summer temperatures.

Even though Spain is used to hot summers, the temperatures being experienced in most of Spain during the last couple of weeks are dangerous. Two workers in Madrid, one a street cleaner and the other working in an industrial unit, have already died and it was reported last night that another Madrid street cleaner was in hospital in critical condition because of heatstroke.

Around Málaga we have been very lucky to escape the worst of it, temperatures of 32/33.

More than a drama for all those who have lost their homes in Dagenham and elsewhere, lack of firefighters and equipment is down to Johnson who closed a lot of stations and sold off the spare equipment when he was Mayor.

There are other homes lost in other parts of the country too.

Maybe now some of those who have been saying "ïts just a bit of summer heat" will start thinking before they open their mouths.

I think this is one very serious consequence of this week's heatwave which really justifies a bit of drama.

London NHS trust cancels operations as IT system fails in heatwave | NHS | The Guardian

I just don't understand this viewpoint. The UK is nothing like the US or France of Spain or anywhere with anticipation of prolonged hot weather. Sure, it's *only* three days, but it wasn't 18 degrees before it was 40 - it's been a ramping up since early July which meant some homes were already really hot. The houses are built so close together, with surfaces that absorb and radiate the heat, it's very tricky. We were there in early July and it was getting hard to sleep at night - no breeze in our AirBnB even with the windows wide open. Two rooms had skylights which were lovely most of the year, I'm sure, but turned it into an oven when the weather got hot. My nephew's school finally relaxed the blazer requirement just before the temps got over 35. Everyday life there is not made for warmer weather, so suggesting it's some propensity for drama that makes people fuss about it isn't right.

I can say that the weather you describe did not happen where I live in The north west or over the Pennines I. Sheffield etc one day it was cold then then for us it gradually crept up to a nice 28/32 for a couple of day and since then it’s been ranging from (during the day) 16/19 with cloudy days and light showers in the other hand my DH works in London and it’s either been sunny and HOT or cloudy and very warm and it’s been like this for months the difference in weather on this lovely Island (s) of ours differs from not just county to county but a couple of miles lol

Very true and the same in our part of Ireland and mainly an average summer, we've had far hotter summers when they don't mention the word heatwave. Some of my favourite beaches far out West are often warmer and sunnier when the weather report shows it's raining and the opposite when heat is forecast. Today very pleasant 22 and sunny but the last few days around 18 and overcast.

Yeah, so all those people who died in BC last year because of the heat were just drama queens too🙄… it wasn’t just plus 30. It was 40 degrees in some parts, in a country that really isn’t set up for it.

A Noel Coward song ... 'Mad dogs & Englishmen' comes to mind.

interesting lyrics, a song he apparently wrote travelling between Hanoi to Saigon.

*typically British* 1950's memories at the seaside watching Dad's in long sleeve shirts roll up their leg pants to their knees walking into the water, with Mum's wearing frocks at the beach.

then for British folks that live in Canada how quickly (maybe 2-3 years) they adapt to the +30 to -30 temperatures, the blazing heat/high humidity to hell has frozen over icy pavements/road, slush, deep snow & power outage.